Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Our clergy abuse lawyers are handling sexual abuse cases by members of the clergy in all 50 states.

If you are a victim, our clergy abuse lawyers are compassionate, and we are here to help.

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News & Updates on Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuits

March 28, 2024:  When Maryland passed the Child Victims Act (“CVA”) last year, it was fully expected that the churches (who are primarily impacted by the CVA) would contest the validity of the law under Maryland’s constitution. It was unclear, however, exactly how that process would unfold and how long it would take.

Now it looks like the question of whether the CVA is valid will get decided by the Maryland Supreme Court very soon. A federal judge in Maryland recently announced that he is submitting a certified question to the Maryland Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the CVA. This process should get us an answer much sooner than waiting for the appeal process to play out.

Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawyers

Recent estimates suggest that there may be thousands of individuals who were the victims of clergy sexual abuse during childhood.

The sexual abuse lawyers at Miller & Zois represent victims who were abused by priests, clergymen, or other church officials. We help these victims hold predators liable and get financial compensation for their suffering. If you were sexually abused as a child by a member of your church or religious organization, we want to hear from you.

About Clergy Sexual Abuse

A wave of investigations over the last decade has uncovered the sad truth about clergy sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and other religious institutions. It is now apparent that the sexual abuse of children by clergymen was a frequent and pervasive problem. It is also evident that the Catholic Church was very much aware of this problem and did almost nothing to stop it.  Instead, the church hierarchy made an effort to clean it up.

Most victims were male and under 14 and the abuse was not a one-time thing.

Sexual abuse by a clergy member against young church members can have devastating long-term effects. Victims of clergy sexual abuse offer suffer emotional trauma for the rest of their lives. Until recently, these victims often had little or no effective recourse for this harm. Recently, however, the increased public attention and awareness has led to major legal changes designed to give victims the ability to hold their abusers accountable.

Sexual Abuse by Nuns

The issue of nuns as sexual abusers in religious settings is an uncomfortable and often overlooked aspect of clerical abuse. While much of the public discourse and media coverage have historically concentrated on male clergy abuse, there is a growing acknowledgment of sexual misconduct perpetrated by nuns.

These cases challenge the stereotypical image of nuns as purely nurturing and benevolent figures, revealing a darker, more complex picture. Victims, often coming forward years after the abuse, share harrowing stories of how their trust and spiritual devotion were exploited by those sworn to lead by example.

Certainly, our lawyers were slow at picking up the seriousness of this issue Sexual abuse by nuns is one of the lesser-known facets of clerical abuse.  We all have – at least I have – an idealized image of nuns as nurturing figures. This often shielded them from suspicion and accountability. As awareness grows and changes in legal frameworks in Maryland and elsewhere that allow older cases to be brought to court, our sex abuse attorneys believe we will see more and more of these cases.

Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Against Religious Institutions

Until recently, victims of clergy sexual abuse had no effective legal recourse. Pursuing criminal charges was hit or miss and dependent on the interest and cooperation of state authorities. Bringing a civil lawsuit was often not possible either because the statute of limitations had expired or because the abuser had no assets to go after.

Things are different now. Many states have amended their laws to eliminate or expand the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims in civil court. Some states, such as New York and New Jersey, have eliminated the statute of limitations in abuse lawsuits. The increasing amount of evidence showing that church authorities knew about the abuse and sought to cover it up has also made the churches themselves become viable defendants in these cases.

Most of the public attention and focus has been on sexual abuse claims involving the Roman Catholic Church. Although the Catholic Church has been the target of the largest number of sexual abuse lawsuits, clergy sexual abuse claims are not limited to catholic organizations.

Many other religious denominations and organizations have faced claims of clergy sexual abuse. Allegations of sexual abuse within the United Methodist Church and the Southern Baptist Convention have exposed similar problems within these institutions.

Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse Can Sue the Church

Victims of clergy sexual abuse have every right to hold their abusers accountable. There are several different legal options available to victims. Our firm specializes in representing clergy abuse victims in bringing tort lawsuits against the individual(s) who abused them and the church or religious organization that allowed it to happen.

Victims of child sexual abuse can bring a civil case against their abuser and the church and get financial compensation for what happened to them. Monetary damages in a sexual abuse case typically include compensation for:

• Past and future medical expenses incurred as a result of the abuse (e.g. mental health counseling, therapy, medications, etc.)
• Emotional pain and suffering resulting from the abuse
• Punitive damages (in some states)

In addition to monetary damages, victims of clergy abuse who bring civil actions can also get something called “injunctive relief.” Injunctive relief is an order from the court commanding someone to do certain things. In church sexual abuse cases, injunctive relief usually takes the form of a court order instructing the church to take certain actions to prevent future sexual abuse.

How Much Money Can You Get for a Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawsuit?

There is nothing wrong with wondering how much money you can expect to get if you bring a successful sexual abuse lawsuit against a church.

Being a plaintiff in a sexual abuse case can be emotionally draining and difficult.Before putting yourself through this ordeal, it is reasonable to wonder what the jury payouts and settlements amounts are in clergy abuse lawsuits.  Because how much money you might expect to get may guide whether it will be worth it for you.

The good news is that clergy sexual abuse lawsuits have a high potential settlement value. The average settlement in recent sexual abuse cases against the Catholic Church is around $300,000 – $400,000. To date, Catholic dioceses in the U.S. have paid over $3 billion in compensation to sexual abuse victims. In many cases, a group of sexual abuse cases are consolidated, and then the church agrees to some global settlement.

The Archdioceses of Los Angles agreed to a $660 million payout to settle a group of clergy abuse cases. Each individual victim in the Los Angles clergy abuse case received $1.3 million, which was the highest average settlement for any group of abuse cases.  Is the average settlement amount in that case on the high end?  It is. But that type of settlement compensation payout is not out of reach for many victims of clergy abuse.

Settlements & Verdicts in Clergy Sexual Abuse Cases

• 2024 California – $10,000,000 Settlement: The Diocese of Orange and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles have agreed to a $10 million settlement in a case of clergy child sex abuse. The settlement comprises $9.5 million from the Diocese of Orange and $500,000 from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, benefiting now-adult survivors. These survivors utilized a three-year window provided by state law to bring forth civil complaints about the abuse they suffered decades ago.
• 2023 New York – $95,000,000 Verdict: A jury in upstate New York awarded a man $95 million against the Catholic Church after he alleged that he was sexually abused by his priest in a car in 1979. The award included $50 million in punitive damages and $45 million for pain and suffering.
• 2023 California – $1,000,000 Settlement: In this case the plaintiff alleged that her stepfather sexually abused her during events, meetings and on the property of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where they were members of the congregation. The lawsuit claimed that the abuse was reported to the church, but they did nothing about it. The church settled out of the case for $1 million.
• 2021 Pennsylvania – $19,200,000 Settlement:  These claims were against the Catholic Diocese in Pittsburgh. The Feinberg Group reported that it received 369 claims. Of the 297 claims deemed eligible, 21 claimants did not respond to settlement offers. Fifty-two more refused the settlement.  The remaining 224 claimants agreed to settlements. These clergy abuse claims only averaged about $86,000 per victim.
• 2020 Ohio – $1,000,000 Settlement: plaintiff alleged that a priest sexually abused him six times while attending a Catholic high school. He suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• 2019 Florida – $4,500,000 Verdict: A United Methodist Church elder, who was also a mental health counselor, sexually abused a woman during counseling sessions. She hired a clergy abuse lawyer and filed a negligent supervision claim against the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. A jury awarded $4,500,000.
• 2018 Montana – $34,960,000 Verdict: Jehovah’s Witness congregation member sexually abused his plaintiffs when they were children over a 13-years.  Just awful. The two women alleged that the congregation’s decision to internally handle the matter rather than contact authorities allowed the abuse to continue. It is such a common theme in these cases – granting a known child molester the opportunity to molest more children.
• 2018 Oregon – $800,000 Verdict: plaintiff alleged that a youth pastor sexually molested him when he was 13. He hired a clergy abuse attorney who filed a lawsuit that alleged that he abused his position to coerce him into sexual acts. The man claimed vicarious liability against the youth pastor’s church. The church denied liability. It argued that the youth pastor’s actions occurred outside the scope of employment.
• 2016 Washington – $9,100,000 Settlement: Eight women alleged that a former Catholic priest sexually abused them over forty years ago when they were children. The priest abused six of them in one parish and two in another. They claimed that the then-Archbishop of Seattle transferred him to unsuspecting parishes despite possessing documented accounts of his abuse. The average individual settlement amount over $1 million was in part the result of the awfulness of sending this priest off to molest more children.

FAQs: Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawsuits